Author
Topic: Ovens & heat (Read 1758 times)

Do the Forno Bravo ovens really get to 900F? I keep reading on their site and it will say "maintains 750F+" in one place, "cooks pizza in 2-3 minutes" in another place, "goes to "905F", and then if I email them they say all of their ovens get to 900.

I need to know which ones truly do get that hot, as I do not want to buy one only to find out it only realistically goes to 750F. I have already done that with a gas oven...

I'm looking to cook 11" pizzas, 2 at a time. Also want to cook 2 or 3 loaves of sourdough bread at a time. Fully assembled is better, as I don't want to build an oven.

I'd definitely agree with that - mine is 48" at the base and has the potential to do several pizzas (or breads) at a time. However, I'm still new enough to the oven to cook them one at a time. In my opinion, I think you can easily achieve 900F in any wood fired oven with reasonably thick walls - sometimes mine goes well above 1000F (and I burn my crust within 60 seconds ). I like to build my fire in the morning after a leisurely breakfast, and keep it going for at least 3-4 hours to achieve a uniform heat radiance within the oven. I know the oven is ready when I throw in a log and the thing sprouts flame along it's entire surface within a few seconds .

Sometimes I cook at really high heat (900F) and the pies are done in 90 seconds - the crust sometimes becomes a bit too charred - so I'll use the metal peel to lift the pie into the dome for a 20 or so seconds to finish the toppings. At other times, I'll let the floor in the center reach 350-400F and bake for a longer period - makes a completely different pie even with the same ingredients.Still learning and becoming accustomed to the oven.

With a woodfired oven, it is up to the user as to how hot it can GET. It may or may not be able to HOLD 900+, but any wood burning appliance has the capacity to reach that temperature, which is why they are lined with a refractory material.

With a woodfired oven, it is up to the user as to how hot it can GET. It may or may not be able to HOLD 900+, but any wood burning appliance has the capacity to reach that temperature, which is why they are lined with a refractory material.

To add to what Tom wrote, it's the holding 900+ that may be problematic - not problematic in that you might not be able to hold 900+, but rather problematic in how big of a fire you will need to hold 900+. The more the oven bleeds heat, the bigger the fire you will need to maintain a given temp, and the bigger the fire, the more difficult the bake. At some point, the heat will become so unbalanced that you simply can't bake the pie without burning it. Smaller ovens exacerbate this as you closer to the fire to start with.

Logged

"We make great pizza, with sourdough when we can, commercial yeast when we must, but always great pizza." Craig's Neapolitan Garage